The answer is not extremely difficult to answer but it becomes even easier when you consider reframing the question. The conference as it is currently comprised is very different than the pre-2013 realignment. We could delve into the the history of the league but that does not tell us much useful information. Tulane, SMU, and Houston have much more D1-A/FBS history than do UTSA and WKU and so comparing them would not be fair.

The short answer is that since 2013, there have not been more than one first round selection from CUSA programs in the NFL draft.

CUSA NFL Draft Selections By Round 2014-2017

Year

Round 1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Total

2014

0

0

2

1

3

2

1

9

2015

0

0

1

0

1

3

1

6

2016

1 †

0

1

2

0

3

3

10

2017

0

1

5

0

2

1

0

9

† Vernon Butler of La tech selected 30th by the Carolina Panthers

Marcus Davenport and Will Hernandez were making noise at Senior Bowl week and might be getting into the first round together.

DE Marcus Davenport, Texas-San Antonio: He probably didn’t win as many one-on-one drills as I thought he would. He basically just showed bull rush all week long. He has great size and ability; he’s just very raw. I saw toughness from him. I think you’ll see his pass-rush moves develop, so I think he’s going to be fine. I think he’s a first-round guy. He just didn’t quite jump off the page in one-on-one drills like you thought he might

Guys like Ito Smith, Richie James, Mike White, Jeff Wilson, and many other are looking to get picked up by the league in this spring’s draft.

2014

Round

Pick

Team

Player

Position

School

3

85

Packers

Khryi Thornton

DT

Southern Miss

3

87

Chiefs

Phillip Gaines

CB

Rice

4

107

Raiders

Justin Ellis

DT

La Tech

5

142

Washington

Ryan Grant

WR

Tulane

5

170

49ers

Keith Reaser

CB

FAU

5

172

Seahawks

Jimmy Staten

DT

MTSU

6

199

Seahawks

Garrett Scott

OT

Marshall

6

210

Jets

IK Enemkpali

DE

La Tech

7

221

Bills

Randell Johnson

LB

FAU

Wikipedia notes 4 players from this draft that went unselected and made major contributions: Zach Orr of NT, Chris Boswell of Rice, Cairo Santos and Orleands Darkwa of Tulane.

2015

Round

Pick

Team

Player

Position

School

3

65

Colts

D’Joun Smith

CB

FAU

5

159

Cardinals

JJ Nelson

WR

UAB

6

213

Packers

Kennard Backman

TE

UAB

6

216

Texans

Christian Covington

DT

Rice

6

217

Chiefs

Rakeem Nunez-Roches

DT

Southern Miss

7

247

Pats

Darryl Roberts

CB

Marshall

Wikipedia notes Neville Hewitt of Marshall as one noteable undrafted player

2016

Round

Pick

Team

Player

Position

School

1

30

Panthers

Vernon Butler

DT

La Tech

3

64

Titans

Kevin Byard

S

MTSU

4

110

Rams

Tyler Higbee

TE

WKU

4

134

Ravens

Kenneth Dixon

RB

La Tech

6

188

Vikings

David Morgan

TE

UTSA

6

206

Rams

Mike Thomas

WR

Southern Miss

6

207

49ers

Jeff Driskel

QB

La Tech

7

223

Dolphins

Brandon Doughty

QB

WKU

7

249

49ers

Prince Charles Iworah

CB

WKU

7

253

Titans

Kalan Reed ✢

CB

Southern Miss

✢ Mr. Irrelevant

Wikipedia notes Jalen Richard of USM as a notable undrafted player

2017

Round

Pick

Team

Player

Position

School

2

38

Chargers

Forrest Lamp

G

WKU

3

65

Browns

Larry Ogunjobi

DT

Charlotte

3

72

Titans

Taywan Taylor

WR

WKU

3

82

Broncos

Carlos Henderson

WR

La Tech

3

100

Titans

Jonnu Smith

TE

FIU

3

103

Saints

Trey Hendrickson

OLB

FAU

5

177

49ers

Trent Taylor

WR

La Tech

5

182

Packers

Aaron Jones

RB

UTEP

6

191

Cowboys

Xavers Woods

S

La Tech

Of the 34 picks here is the breakdown by school:

La Tech – 8

WKU – 5

Southern Miss – 4

FAU – 4

Rice – 2

UAB – 2

Marshall – 2

MTSU – 2

Tulane – 1

UTEP – 1

UTSA – 1

FIU – 1

Charlotte – 1

In this same time period, La Tech has had two league title appearances (losing both) and WKU has two wins. Southern Miss has on title appearance (a loss) and Rice won the league over Marshall in 2013.

UAB disappeared for a while, obviously, but at least two players that left and went on to be drafted elsewhere: Jordan Howard went in the 5th round from Indiana, Gerald Everette went in the 2nd after transferring to South Alabama.

We can see that talent roughly correlates with winning. Marshall, of course, was led by Rakeem Cato who is still playing pro ball outside of the NFL. Also, FAU’s 4 draft choices and mere 15 wins before Lane Kiffin arrived is evidence of what was suspected: FAU was a sleeping giant.

What will be interesting as this chart is updated after the 2018 draft is that this year’s crop of good teams was relatively young. FAU’s main stars are returning to defend their title, and the West champ North Texas is in a similar situation. Young rosters led the way.

Southern Miss’ Ito Smith, Korey Robertson and Allenzae Staggers are in the mix for this draft and that will make Golden Eagle fans even more frustrated at the two title game losses and disappointing 2017 season with those players on the roster.